Assignment: Find 4-5 pieces of propaganda from our current society. It can be anything that persuades members of society to live life a certain way. The form each takes can vary, so be creative. Once you identify the propaganda, plan and write a 2-3 page essay that answers that explains how propaganda is present and used in our current state of existence. Be sure to cite specific examples to support your argument.
The following website contains information on how to give proper credit to any texts you use in the paper: Purdue OWL MLA Guide
You are responsible for properly citing the sources.
The essay will be graded using the Malden High School Long Composition Rubric.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Blogging Project Guidelines
Name:
______________________________
Period:
_____ Date: __________________
BLOGGING
PROJECT
Over
the course of the year, you will be working on an ongoing blogging project. This work will be loosely divided into four
phases, one for each grading quarter.
The Issues:
As
we have discussed, literature about the future is often used as a form of social
criticism. Some of the most common
social issues addressed in these works include the following:
-
Environment
-
Government
-
Technology
-
Biotechnology/Genetics
-
Inequality
(race, gender, etc.)
-
Religion
-
War
Through
your blog, you will explore all seven of these issues, eventually focusing in
on one. This focus will inform your selection
of independent reading books as well as the topic of your research paper.
Overview of the Four Phases:
Phase
1: Exploration (first quarter)
-
During
this phase, you will locate and analyze a variety of short texts about the
future which address social issues.
-
You
must blog about all seven primary issues, using a different text each time.
Phase
2: Focused Inquiry (second quarter)
-
During
this phase, you will select one of the seven issues on which to focus, and will
read 1 (CP) or 2 (Honors) books that address your selected issue.
-
Your
blog will function as your Reader’s Notebook for these independent texts.
Phase
3: Research Paper (third quarter)
-
During
this phase, you will use what you have learned in the first half of the year to
develop a research question, conduct research, and compose a research paper
addressing some facet of your issue.
-
You
will blog about the research process, and will publish your findings and final
paper on your blog.
Phase
4: Senior Portfolio (fourth quarter)
-
During
this phase, you will synthesize and reflect upon the work of the first three
quarters.
-
Your
blog will function as your senior portfolio, which will feature highlights from
earlier work as well as additional, reflective compositions.
Name:
______________________________
Period:
_____ Date: __________________
BLOGGING
PROJECT – PHASE ONE
This
quarter, you will use your blog to explore all seven of the major social issues
addressed in literature and art about the future.
There
are seven issues, and eight weeks remaining in the first quarter. Each week, you should focus on a new
issue.
Blog Post
Requirements:
-
Locate
and post a work (short story, poem, essay, song, artwork, film clip, etc) which
presents a vision of the future.
-
The
text you select must focus on one of the primary issues: Environment,
Government, Technology, Biotechnology/Genetics, Inequality (race, gender,
etc.), Religion, War.
-
Many
texts will address more than one issue.
However, each post should focus on one primary issue. That focus will inform your analysis.
-
The
style in your blog posts may be slightly less formal than that of traditional
academic writing; however, your work must be school appropriate and must follow
the rules of standard written English.
-
Each
work should be accompanied by reflection and analysis. You must:
o
Share
your personal response to the work and explain this response.
o
Analyze
the purpose of the work, specific techniques used to achieve this purpose, and
the overall effect of the work.
o
Connect
to one or more of our essential questions:
§
What
does it mean to be human?
§
What
do our depictions of the future reveal about the present?
§
How
do we use language / images to manipulate people’s minds?
-
Each
week, visit one of your classmates’ blogs.
Comment on his or her work.
CP Students
must complete a total of eight posts by the end of the term.
Honors
Students must complete a total of twelve posts by the end of the term.
At
the end of the quarter, you will receive a 100 Point “major assessment” grade
based on your blog.
In
addition, you will receive a homework grade each week – so don’t procrastinate!
I Know Kung Fu...or at least in the future I will.
Questions abound, however, from the logistical perspective of a lifestyle entrenched in technology. (The concept gives a whole new meaning to "screen time".) What would become of us--a nation already plagued with an obesity epidemic and a huge disparity between the rich and the poor--if we should ever have the ability to learn instantaneously? Could we take the concept a step further, and make it possible to retain the physical memory in the real world? Who would have access to these types of programs? Only the elite or people trained and monitored to use the knowledge responsibly? What if everyone had access to it, and the criminally-inclined used it against the average, compliant citizens or even the police or military? If access were limited, would greed seep even further into the veins and crevices of those in power, thereby returning our so-called civilized society back into a feudal-like state of existence, where the disenfranchised are indentured to the power mongers? Sometimes, contemplating the coolest ideas quickly descends into imagining the nightmarish outcomes of playing God.
In the end, though, I guess I'd be ok, because...I know Kung Fu.
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